Loading of compliant tape

ABSTRACT

Beam lead semiconductor devices are loaded onto an apertured compliant-bonding tape and held thereto with a releasable adhesive. The apertured tape is successively indexed through a loading machine. At one station, small accurately located dots of adhesive are applied to the tape. At a transfer station, integrated-circuit chips are pressed against the tape so that beam leads are secured to the dots of adhesive. Integratedcircuit chips are brought to the transfer station in springbiased holding nests mounted on an indexable turret. The compliant tape is embossed to form protective pockets therein so that when integrated-circuit chips are loaded onto the tape, subsequent winding of the tape onto a reel will not damage the chips.

United States Patent [191 Boyer et a1.

[4 Jan. 15, 1974 LOADING OF COMPLIANT TAPE [75] Inventors: John A.Boyer, Allentown; David P.

Ludwig; Friedrich Zwickel, both of Whitehall, all of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Western Electric Company,

Incorporated, New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Oct. 1, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 185,648

[52] US. Cl 156/356, 156/547, 156/552,

156/578 [51] Int. Cl. B32b 31/04, B650 11/04 [58] Field of Search156/302, 425, 556,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,946,370 7/1960 Muttera,Jr. 156/302 3,457,131 7/1969 Rosenstein.... 156/302 2,488,685 11/1949Riddle 156/548 3,565,722 2/1971 Drake 156/564 2,760,547 8/1956 Dempnock,Jr. 156/564 2,300,185 10/1942 VonHofe 156/572 2,676,726 4/1954 VonHofe156/571 3,465,874 9/1969 l-lugle et al. 206/56 A 2,557,668 6/1951Lincoln 156/548 1,625,907 4/1927 Peterson 156/578 3,532,316 9/1970Mathes 156/578 Primary Examiner-Douglas J. Drummond AssistantExaminer-Michael G. Wityshyn Attorney-W. M. Kain et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT Beam lead semiconductor devices are loaded onto anapertured compliant-bonding tape and held thereto with a releasableadhesive. Theapertured tape is successively indexed through a loadingmachine. At one station, small accurately located dots of adhesive areapplied to the tape. At a transfer station, integratedcircuit chips arepressed against the tape so that beam leads are secured to the dots ofadhesive. Integratedcircuit chips are brought to the transfer station inspring-biased holding nests mounted on an indexable turret.

The compliant tape is embossed to form protective pockets therein sothat when integrated-circuit chips are loaded onto the tape, subsequentwinding of the tape onto a reel will not damage the chips.

12 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDJAN I 51914 sum u 0F 5 PATENTEU 13.785.903

sum 5 OF 5 LOADING OF COMPLIANT TAPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention This invention relates to methods and apparatusfor loading beam-lead semiconductor devices onto continuouscompliant-bonding tapes.

2. Description of the Prior Art When bonding beam-lead semiconductordevices, such as integrated-circuit chips described in U. S. Pat. No.3,426,252 issued to M. P. Lepselter on Feb. 4, 1969 to substrates, it ishighly advantageous to employ a technique known as compliant bonding.Compliant bonding is described in U. S. Pat. No. 3,533,155 issued to A.Coucoulas on Oct. 13, 1970. A particularly effective technique foradapting compliant bonding to highspeed productionv is described inpatent applications, Ser. No. 863,259 filed on Oct. 2, 1969 in the nameof D. P. Ludwig, and Ser. No. 173,447 filed on or about Aug. 20, 1971 inthe names of J. N. Lesyk, D. P. Ludwig and J. J. Monahan. Bothapplications are assigned to the assignee of record of this application.

In using the above-described systems for compliant bonding, there hasbeen a long-standing desire to provide a continuous compliant-bondingtape to a bonding operation in which the integrated-circuit chips arealready loaded. Thus, a reel of loaded tape could be placed on a bondingmachine and the tape could be indexed across the bonding head, with anintegratedcircuit chip arriving at the bonding tip with each successiveindex of the tape. The small size and delicate nature of beam-lead,integrated-circuit chips has, heretofore, frustrated attempts to achievea practical operation in which such pre-loaded tapes are used forbonding. The only known technique for loading the very delicate chipsonto a tape are manual ones and these are very cumbersome and timeconsuming. As a result of this lack of a practical technique, compliantbonding has continued to be an operation in which chips are engaged withthe tape during the bonding operation rather than prior to theoperation.

Another problem that has prevented a practical preloading of chips ontoa tape, is that damage occurs when chips are loaded on the tape and thetape is reeled onto itself in a winding operation. The variouscompressed convolutions of the tape cause bending and destruction of thevery delicate gold leads of the chips, which leads are usually only0.004 inch wide and 0.0005 inch thick.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention toprovide a new and practical system for loading beam-lead semiconductordevices onto a compliant tape.

Another object of the invention is to accomplish such loading in anefficient manner consistent with sound and economical productionpractices.

Still another object of the invention is to accomplish a pre-loading ofbeam-lead semiconductor devices into a compliant tape, wherein the tapecan be wound onto a reel without damage to the loaded devices.

These objectives are achieved by placing a device into a receiving unit;applying adhesive resin to successive desired portions of a continuouscompliantbonding tape; translating a portion of the tape with adhesivethereon to a transfer position and also translating the device-receivingunit to the transfer position. The translated device and the translatedportion of the tape with adhesive thereon, are displaced relative toeach other so that the device is contacted to the tape. Thus, the deviceis secured to the adhesive. Repetitive operation of the system resultsin a loading of an entire continuous tape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and features of thepresent invention will be more readily understood from the followingdetailed description of specific embodiments thereof, when read inconjunction with the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall elevational view of a loading machine useful forloading beam-lead semiconductor articles onto a continuouscompliant-bonding tape.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of a compliant-bonding tape withadhesive deposited thereon.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the compliant tape of FIG. 2 showing abeam-lead semiconductor device loaded onto the tape.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the machines of FIG. 1 withportions thereof removed for purposes of clarity.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the encircled portion of the machine shownin FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1 taken along thelines 66.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the portion of the ma chine of FIG. 4shown in an engaged position.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged portion of an encircled area of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged portion of an encircled area of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an adhesive applicator taken along the lines1010 of FIG. 6 and rotated 90 clockwise.

FIG. 11 is a view of a portion of the takeup reel of the machine of FIG.I with portions thereof removed for purposes of clarity.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of a bonding operation beingperformed on a device held in a compliant-bonding tape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A tape-loading machine, designated generally by thenumeral 20, is illustrated in FIG. 1. The machine 20 includes a supplyreel 22 for a compliant-bonding member or tape 24; anadhesive-application station, designated generally by the numeral 26; aplurality of loading nests, designated generally by the numeral 28; atape loading or transfer station, designated generally by the numeral 30and a takeup reel 32. The compliant bonding tape 24 is progressivelyindexed through the machine 20 with a drive sprocket 34.

The drive sprocket 34 has projections 36 thereon which engage withsprocket apertures 38 formed in the tape 24. The sprocket apertures 38are alternately arranged with chip apertures 40.

With each successive index of the sprocket 34, one of the chip apertures40 is positioned into both the adhesive-application station 26 and thetransfer station 30. Within the adhesive-application station 26 foursmall dots 42 of adhesive resin are placed on the tape 24 as shown inFIG. 2. The dots 42 are very accurately located with respect to thesprocket apertures 38'so that when each of the chip apertures 40 areeventually indexed around to the transfer station 30, a beam-leadintegrated-circuit device or chip 44 can be transferred to the tape 24and four beam-leads 46 of the chip will contact the four dots 42 ofadhesive as shown in FIG. 3.

After the chips 44 are adhesively secured to the tape 24, the tape iswound onto the takeup reel 32. A full package of the loaded tape 24 canbe removed from the reel 32 and taken to a bonding machine such as oneof those described in patent applications, Ser. No. 863,259 filed onOct. 2, 1969 in the name of D. P. Ludwig, and Ser. No. 173,447 filed onor about Aug. 20, 1971 in the names of J. N. Lesyk, D. P. Ludwig and J.J. Monahan. Both applications are assigned to the assignee of record ofthis application.

A detailed understanding of the operation of the adhesive-applicationstation 26 and the transfer station 30 can be had by referring to FIGS.4 through 10.

In FIG. 4 the stations 26 and 30 are shown in their opened or disengagedposition. In this position, the tape 24 can be freely moved through thestations as is necessary during indexing. After an indexing step iscompleted, the sprocket apertures 38 are roughly or generally alignedwith alignment pins 48 on both of the stations 26 and 30. When suchgeneral alignment is achieved, a cam roller arm 50 (see FIG. 6) ispivoted downwardly.

Downward pivoting of the arm 50 permits compression springs 52 and 53 toforce a cam block 54 downwardly. The cam block 54 is rigidly connectedto a support member 56 which holds two of the alignment pins 48 and anadhesive applicator 58. Also connected to the cam block 54 is a supportmember 60 in which there are mounted two of the alignment pins 48 and atransfer ram 62. It can be seen that the downward motion of the camblock 54 will result in a simultaneous downward motion of both theadhesive applicator 58 and the transfer ram 62. During such downwardmotion, the alignment pins 48 engage with the sprocket apertures 38 inthe tape 24. Such engagement results in an extremely precise alignmentof the chip apertures 40, both to the adhesive applicator 58 and to thetransfer ram 62. Precise alignment is very important in the transferoperation because it is necessary to have repeatability of location ofthe dots 42 of adhesive resin into a position where the leads 46 of thechips 44 will engage with the dots during each transfer step.

Within the transfer station 30 the alignment pins 48 also engage withalignment holes 64 formed in the underlying loading nest 28. Each of theloading nests 28 is constructed as a spring-biased outer member 66surrounding a pedestal member 68. In the disengaged configuration shownin FIGS. 4 and the top surface of the outer member 66 is located abovethe top surface of the pedestal member 68. Such a condition results inthe formation of a pocket in which one of the chips 44 rests. A vacuumport 69 is provided to retain the chips 44 within the pocket.

When the cam member 54 is lowered, the transfer ram 62 engages with thetape 24 and forces the tape against the top surface of the outer member66 to drive said outer member downwardly. When downward motion of theouter member 66 occurs, the top surface of the pedestal member 68projects above the top surface of the outer member 66 as shown in FIG.8. Such a condition permits direct contact between the dots 42 ofadhesive on the tape 24 and the leads 46 of the chip 44, which issupported on the pedestal member 68. The pressure exerted on the leads46 is limited by the forces developed by the springs 52.

Upward pivoting of the cam roller arm 50 results in a reverse motion ofthe cam block 54 and a consequential lifting of the transfer arm 62. Asa result of such lifting, the outer member 66 of the nest 28 ispermitted to move upwardly under the force of springs 70 and the topsurface of the pedestal member 68 again forms the bottom of the pocket.The chip 44, of course, does not drop into-the reformed pocket, butinstead is retained on the tape 24 by the adhesive dots 42. Thus, aloading of one of the chips 44 to the tape 24 is accomplished.

Simultaneously with transfer of the chip 44 to the tape 24, the adhesivedots 42 are being applied to a portion of the tape 24 surrounding one ofthe chip apertures 40. The adhesive-applicator 58 includes a ho]- lowbarrel member 72 which acts as reservoir for a liquid adhesive resin.The barrel member 72 is provided with closed end at the bottom thereof.The closed end is carefully shaped to provide four adhesive-applicatortips 74 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The tips 74 are formed by drillingfour holes 76 through the bottom of the barrel member 72. Each of theholes 76 have a diameter of approximately 0.005 inch. The areasurrounding each of the drilled holes 76 is then made into a projectingpedestal, approximately 0.007 inch square, by grinding away thesurrounding portion of the bottom of the barrel member 72.

There is a machined barrel-flat 77 provided on the applicator 58 whichis used to orient the applicator to the axis of the tape 24. It shouldbe noted that the pattern of the tips 74 is rotationally shifted by anangle A from a direct alignment with barrel-flat 77. The rotationalshifting permits the placement of the adhesive dots 42 in positions thatare slightly off center from the centerlines of the chips 44. Theoff-center placement, of course, results in the adhesive dots 42 beingprecisely located under the leads 46 as shown in FIG. 3. If the chips 44were provided with an odd number of leads on each side instead of aneven number the rotational shifting would not be required.

When the tips 74 are placed in contact with the tape 24 the adhesiveresin which is on the outer surface of the tips forms an air-tight sealbetween the tips and the tape. As the applicator 58 is withdrawn fromthe tape 24 a vacuum force develops which tends to draw the resin out ofthe holes 76 to form the dots 42 at the desired positions. The air-tightseal between the tips 74 and the tape 24 breaks after the applicator 58is partially withdrawn. The distance to which the applicator can bewithdrawn before the air-tight seal breaks is determinative of thevolume of the resin which is pulled out of the holes 76 by the vacuumforce and thus is also determinative of the size of the dots 42.

The alignment pins 48 of the applicator station 30 engage with the tape24 prior to the application of adhesive thereto. Such engagement betweenthe pins 48 and the sprocket apertures 38 assures a highly predictablelocation of the four dots 42. When the. portion of the tape 24 to whichthe adhesive has been applied is ultimately indexed to the transferstation 30, the same sprocket apertures 38 will again be utilized toalign that portion of the tape to one of the chips 44 that is heldwithin one of the nests 28. Thus, when the chip 44 is pressed againstthe tape 24, the leads 46 will be precisely aligned with the dots 42 ofadhesive and a desired loading of the tape will result.

In order that the applicator function as deisred, it is necessary thatthe adhesive have a flowable nature. It is also necessary that theadhesive should be tacky enough to hold the chips 44 within the tape 24.An example of an adhesive material having the desired combination ofproperties is a silicone resin availbale from Dow Corning Corporation,Midland, Michigan. The material bears the product designation XR-62-047Resin.

The tackiness of the adhesive can be improved by applying some heat tothe dots 42 before they reach the transfer station 30. Application ofheat is readily accomplished by directing a heated stream of air againstthe tape from a conventional hot-air type heater unit 79.

A key feature necessary for efficient operation of a tape loadingmachine is an ability to quickly position the chips 44 into the desiredlocation within the transfer station 30. This efficient positioning isachieved in the machine by utilizing a plurality of the nests 28 mountedon an indexable turret 80. The chips 44 are loaded into the nests 28when the nests are in a position remote from the transfer station 30 asshown in FIG. 6. A conventional chip handler 81 of the sort availablefrom Kulicke & Soffa Co. as model No. 590 can be utilized to deposit thechips 44 into the nests 28. The turret 80 is arranged to index at thesame time that the sprockets 34 indexes the tape 24. Thus, with eachindexing step a loaded one of the nests 28 is brought into the transferstation 30. During the time that actual transfer and adhesiveapplication are occurring, the turret 80 is, of course, stationary.During the stationary period, an empty one of the nests 28 is re-loadedwith the conventional chip handler 81. Vacuum forces operating throughthe port 69 assist in the loading of the nests 28.

The tape 24 is provided with an embossed configuration 83 about theperiphery of each of the apertures 40 as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3, 5and 8. It can be seen that the embossing is deep enough to form a pocket84 into which the leads 46 can fit. A body portion 85, of the chipprojects into the chip aperture 40. The embossed configuration of thetape 24 is highly desirable when the tape is used as a package for thechips 44 as shown in FIG. 11. The chips 44 are protected from damagingcontact with other portions of the tape 24, when the tape is wound ontothe reel 32. Additionally the chips 44 are held in a predictablelocation by the embossed configuration. Such predictability of locationis very useful in future bonding operations.

After the tape 24 is wound into a package, it can be placed in a heatedenvironment at 150C for approximately ten minutes in order to partiallycure the adhesive resin which holds the chips 44 in place. The partialcuring increases the effectiveness of adhesive and assures that thepackage of chips 44 and tape 24 can withstand handling associated withtransport and shipping.

In a subsequent bonding operation, the embossed portion of the tape 24is pressed into a flat shape as shown in FIG. 12. Thus, the embossingarrangement illustrated in FIG. 5 does not inhibit efficient bonding ofthe chips 44.

After bonding is complete, removal of the tape 24 from the bond site canact as a test for soundness of the bond. If the bonding between the beamleads 46 and a substrate is sound, the adhesive will readily releasefrom the back sides of the leads. However, if the bonding is weak, anattempted removal of the tape 24 will result in a tearing away of thechip 44 from the substrate. Thus, the adhesive and tape 24 can be usedto test bonds in accordance with an inventive method set forth in patentapplication Ser. No. 832,630 filed in the name of B. 'H. Cranston onJune 12, 1969 and assigned to assignee of record of. this application.

Although certain embodiments of the invention have been shown in thedrawings and described in the specification, it is to be understood thatthe invention is not limited thereto, is capable of modification and canbe arranged without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for loading beam-lead devices into preselected,repetitively spaced locations of a continuous tape having a plurality ofadhesively treated portions at each of such locations, which comprises:

a loading station comprising aligning means for precisely aligning oneof the preselected locations of the tape to the loading station;

means for indexing consecutive ones of the preselected locations of thetape into rough alignment with the loading station;

means for receiving beam-lead devices in sequence and for indexing thedevices in sequence into rough alignment with the loading station;

means for moving the alignment means of the loading station intoengagement with the tape and with the receiving means to precisely alignthe tape to the receiving means and to locate a plurality of the beamleads of the device indexed to the loading station opposite theadhesively treated portions at the aligned location of the tape; and

means for urging each one of the beam leads opposite one of theadhesively treated portions into contact with such portions.

2. Apparatus for loading successive beam-lead devices into preselectedlocations of a length of compliant tape, which comprises:

a loading station;

.means for receiving the devices in succession and for generallyaligning and orienting each of the devices, as received, with theloading station;

means, located spaced from the loading station, for applying a pluralityof dots of adhesive to localized regions of the preselected locations ina pattern coincident with selected leads of the devices to be loaded;

means for indexing the tape to at least roughly aligned successivelocations on the tape first with the applying means and then with theloading station;

means, rendered effective after the tape is indexed, for preciselyaligning the roughly aligned locations to the applying means and to theloading station; and

means for simultaneously activating the applying means and pressingselected leads of the aligned and oriented device at the loading stationinto contact with coincident spots of adhesive applied to the alignedlocations during a preceding operation of the applying means to load thedevice into the aligned location.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the device receiving means includesa collapsible nest into which the devices are deposited, said nesthaving a cross-sectional shape substantially the same as the overallplanar shape of the device, and said nest being constructed so that thebottom of the nest and top of the nest are movable with respect to eachother whereby a device in the nest can be forced out of the nest duringthe loading operation.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the means for indexing the tapeincludes tape inversion means whereby the adhesive dots are applied toan upwardly facing portion of the tape but the devices are loaded todownwardly facing portions of the tape.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 which further comprises means to heat theadhesive after application thereof to the tape to improve the tackinessof the adhesive.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein:

the precise aligning means includes at least two alignment pinsengageable with alignment holes in the tape and also engageable withalignment holes on the device-receiving means whereby a desired portionof the tape is aligned to a desired portion of the receiving means whensaid alignment pins are engaged with said alignment.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the means for indexing the tapeincludes sprocket means having sprocket projections thereon spaced andshaped to operate with the same holes in the tape in which the alignmentpins of the precise aligning means operate.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the adhesive application meanscomprises:

an adhesive reservoir having openings extending through an otherwiseclosed end thereof, said reservoir being mounted on a reciprocatablemember and said member having alignment pins thereon arranged to engagewith alignment holes in the tape whereby upon approximate alignment of adesired portion of the tape with the application means, and upon contactof the reciprocatable member with the tape, and subsequent removaltherefrom the alignment pins provide accurate alignment and droplets ofadhesive from the openings are applied to a precise area of the tape.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the end of the reservoir havingopenings therein is shaped to provide small pedestals for said openingswhich extend out wardly of the main body of the reservoir wherebycontact of the reservoir with the compliant tape will result in depositsof adhesive which are limited in size to the area of the pedestals.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the openings of the reservoir havea maximum diameter of 0.007 inch and at least portions of the edges ofthe pedestals are within 0.001 inch of the edge of the openings.

11. Apparatus for loading beam-lead integrated circuit chips into acompliant bonding tape having a series of apertures for receiving thechips and alternately spaced therewith a series of alignment holes,which comprises:

means for receiving chips and orienting the chips to a desired alignmentincluding a collapsible nest into which the chips are deposited, saidnest having a cross-sectional shape substantially the same as theoverall planar shape of the chip, and said nest being constructed sothat the bottom of the nest and top of the nest are movable with respectto each other whereby a chip in the nest can be forced out of the nest;transfer means for transferring the chips in sequence to one of theapertures in the tape, said transfer means having accurate locationsmeans thereon, including at least two alignment pins engageable withselected ones of the alignment holes in the compliant-bonding tape andalso engageable with alignment holes on the chip receiving means wherebyone of the apertures of the tape is aligned to a desired portion of thechip receiving means when said alignment pins are engaged with said,alignment holes; means for applying adhesive to localized regions aboutthe periphery of each of the apertures in the tape including an adhesivereservoir having apertures extending through an otherwise closed endthereof, said end of the reservoir being shaped to provide smallpedestals for each of said openings, which extends outwardly of the mainbody of the reservoir, said reservoir being mounted on a reciprocatablemember and said member having align ment pins thereon arranged to engagewith alignment holes in the tape whereby upon approximate alignment of adesired portion of the tape with the application means, and upon thereciprocatable member being moved toward the tape, the alignment pinsprovide accurate alignment so that droplets of adhesive are applied to aprecise area of the compliant tape, in deposits of controlled shape,limited to the area of the pedastals; means for translating the portionof the tape with adhesive thereon to the transfer means, said meansincluding a sprocket having projections thereon spaced and shaped tooperate with the same holes in the tape in which the alignment pins ofthe transfer means operate whereby the tape is expeditiously translatedto the transfer means; and

means for actuating the transfer means one of the chips and one of theportions of tape with adhesive thereon are translated to said means topress selected ones of the leads of the chip to the adhesive on the tapeand thereby load the tape.

12. Apparatus for adhesively loading a plurality of beam-lead devices inpreparation for successively feeding the devices to and compliantlybonding the devices to substrates at a bonding station, the apparatuscomprising:

a loading station;

means for receiving beam-lead devices in sequence and for indexing eachreceived device in sequence and with a predetermined orientation to theloading station; supply of tape of a compliant material, the tape havinga first series of equally spaced apertures, each of such apertures beingsized to receive the body of one of the devices with the leads extendingover the edges of the aperture, and each of such apertures furtherhaving an embossed configuration about its periphery larger than thelateral extent of the leads of the respective device, the embossedconfiguration being of a depth greater than the thickness of the leadsto provide a pocket for the leads with respect to the surface of thetape, and a second series of apertures in the tape located alternatelyto the apertures of the first series and spaced a predetermined distancefrom the apertures of the first series to serve as locator meanstherefor;

an adhesive applicator station including an adhesive reservoir and aplurality of applicator tips rigidly joined to each other but spaced tofit within portions of the tape bordered by the periphery of theembossed configurations about each of such apertures;

means for indexing the tape to move successive apertures of the firstseries into at least rough alignment with the applicator station and tomove apertures out of alignment with the applicator station and into atleast rough alignment with the loading station;

aligning means, positioned at the applicator station and at the loadingstation, for engaging the'tape after the indexing means has operated forprecisely aligning the roughly aligned apertures with the applicator andthe loading stations;

means for engaging the tips with the embossed conmeans for storing thetape with the loaded devices,

the storing means being removably attached to the apparatus to permitthe stored tape to be transferred to a bonding apparatus for employmentin feeding the devices to the bonding station, and in compliantlybonding the devices to substrates. =l

L-566-PT UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE C RTIFICAT E OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3,785,903 Dated January 15, 1974 John A. Boyer, David P. Ludwig andFriedrich Zwickel It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patentand that said Letters Patent are hereby con-actedas shown below:

Col. 8, line 33 (Claim 11, line 32) "pedastals" should be --pedesta1s-.

'Colj. line 41 (Claim .11, line after "transfer means" insert --after--.

Signed and sealed this 1 th day of June 19714,.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. Apparatus for loading beam-lead devices into preselected,repetitively spaced locations of a continuous tape having a plurality ofadhesively treated portions at each of such locations, which comprises:a loading station comprising aligning means for precisely aligning oneof the preselected locations of the tape to the loading station; meansfor indexing consecutive ones of the preselected locations of the tapeinto rough alignment with the loading station; means for receivingbeam-lead devices iN sequence and for indexing the devices in sequenceinto rough alignment with the loading station; means for moving thealignment means of the loading station into engagement with the tape andwith the receiving means to precisely align the tape to the receivingmeans and to locate a plurality of the beam leads of the device indexedto the loading station opposite the adhesively treated portions at thealigned location of the tape; and means for urging each one of the beamleads opposite one of the adhesively treated portions into contact withsuch portions.
 2. Apparatus for loading successive beam-lead devicesinto preselected locations of a length of compliant tape, whichcomprises: a loading station; means for receiving the devices insuccession and for generally aligning and orienting each of the devices,as received, with the loading station; means, located spaced from theloading station, for applying a plurality of dots of adhesive tolocalized regions of the preselected locations in a pattern coincidentwith selected leads of the devices to be loaded; means for indexing thetape to at least roughly aligned successive locations on the tape firstwith the applying means and then with the loading station; means,rendered effective after the tape is indexed, for precisely aligning theroughly aligned locations to the applying means and to the loadingstation; and means for simultaneously activating the applying means andpressing selected leads of the aligned and oriented device at theloading station into contact with coincident spots of adhesive appliedto the aligned locations during a preceding operation of the applyingmeans to load the device into the aligned location.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2 wherein the device receiving means includes a collapsible nestinto which the devices are deposited, said nest having a cross-sectionalshape substantially the same as the overall planar shape of the device,and said nest being constructed so that the bottom of the nest and topof the nest are movable with respect to each other whereby a device inthe nest can be forced out of the nest during the loading operation. 4.The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the means for indexing the tapeincludes tape inversion means whereby the adhesive dots are applied toan upwardly facing portion of the tape but the devices are loaded todownwardly facing portions of the tape.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2which further comprises means to heat the adhesive after applicationthereof to the tape to improve the tackiness of the adhesive.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 2 wherein: the precise aligning means includes atleast two alignment pins engageable with alignment holes in the tape andalso engageable with alignment holes on the device-receiving meanswhereby a desired portion of the tape is aligned to a desired portion ofthe receiving means when said alignment pins are engaged with saidalignment.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the means for indexingthe tape includes sprocket means having sprocket projections thereonspaced and shaped to operate with the same holes in the tape in whichthe alignment pins of the precise aligning means operate.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 2 wherein the adhesive application means comprises:an adhesive reservoir having openings extending through an otherwiseclosed end thereof, said reservoir being mounted on a reciprocatablemember and said member having alignment pins thereon arranged to engagewith alignment holes in the tape whereby upon approximate alignment of adesired portion of the tape with the application means, and upon contactof the reciprocatable member with the tape, and subsequent removaltherefrom the alignment pins provide accurate alignment and droplets ofadhesive from the openings are applied to a precise area of the tape. 9.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the end of the reservoir havingopenings therein is shaped to provide small pedestals for said openingsWhich extend outwardly of the main body of the reservoir whereby contactof the reservoir with the compliant tape will result in deposits ofadhesive which are limited in size to the area of the pedestals.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9 wherein the openings of the reservoir have amaximum diameter of 0.007 inch and at least portions of the edges of thepedestals are within 0.001 inch of the edge of the openings. 11.Apparatus for loading beam-lead integrated circuit chips into acompliant bonding tape having a series of apertures for receiving thechips and alternately spaced therewith a series of alignment holes,which comprises: means for receiving chips and orienting the chips to adesired alignment including a collapsible nest into which the chips aredeposited, said nest having a cross-sectional shape substantially thesame as the overall planar shape of the chip, and said nest beingconstructed so that the bottom of the nest and top of the nest aremovable with respect to each other whereby a chip in the nest can beforced out of the nest; transfer means for transferring the chips insequence to one of the apertures in the tape, said transfer means havingaccurate locations means thereon, including at least two alignment pinsengageable with selected ones of the alignment holes in thecompliant-bonding tape and also engageable with alignment holes on thechip receiving means whereby one of the apertures of the tape is alignedto a desired portion of the chip receiving means when said alignmentpins are engaged with said alignment holes; means for applying adhesiveto localized regions about the periphery of each of the apertures in thetape including an adhesive reservoir having apertures extending throughan otherwise closed end thereof, said end of the reservoir being shapedto provide small pedestals for each of said openings, which extendsoutwardly of the main body of the reservoir, said reservoir beingmounted on a reciprocatable member and said member having alignment pinsthereon arranged to engage with alignment holes in the tape whereby uponapproximate alignment of a desired portion of the tape with theapplication means, and upon the reciprocatable member being moved towardthe tape, the alignment pins provide accurate alignment so that dropletsof adhesive are applied to a precise area of the compliant tape, indeposits of controlled shape, limited to the area of the pedastals;means for translating the portion of the tape with adhesive thereon tothe transfer means, said means including a sprocket having projectionsthereon spaced and shaped to operate with the same holes in the tape inwhich the alignment pins of the transfer means operate whereby the tapeis expeditiously translated to the transfer means; and means foractuating the transfer means one of the chips and one of the portions oftape with adhesive thereon are translated to said means to pressselected ones of the leads of the chip to the adhesive on the tape andthereby load the tape.
 12. Apparatus for adhesively loading a pluralityof beam-lead devices in preparation for successively feeding the devicesto and compliantly bonding the devices to substrates at a bondingstation, the apparatus comprising: a loading station; means forreceiving beam-lead devices in sequence and for indexing each receiveddevice in sequence and with a predetermined orientation to the loadingstation; a supply of tape of a compliant material, the tape having afirst series of equally spaced apertures, each of such apertures beingsized to receive the body of one of the devices with the leads extendingover the edges of the aperture, and each of such apertures furtherhaving an embossed configuration about its periphery larger than thelateral extent of the leads of the respective device, the embossedconfiguration being of a depth greater than the thickness of the leadsto provide a pocket for the leads with respect to the surface of thetape, and a seconD series of apertures in the tape located alternatelyto the apertures of the first series and spaced a predetermined distancefrom the apertures of the first series to serve as locator meanstherefor; an adhesive applicator station including an adhesive reservoirand a plurality of applicator tips rigidly joined to each other butspaced to fit within portions of the tape bordered by the periphery ofthe embossed configurations about each of such apertures; means forindexing the tape to move successive apertures of the first series intoat least rough alignment with the applicator station and to moveapertures out of alignment with the applicator station and into at leastrough alignment with the loading station; aligning means, positioned atthe applicator station and at the loading station, for engaging the tapeafter the indexing means has operated for precisely aligning the roughlyaligned apertures with the applicator and the loading stations; meansfor engaging the tips with the embossed configuration at the applicatorstation to apply a plurality of adhesive dots to the embossedconfiguration and for contacting the leads of the device indexed to theloading station to such dots applied during a prior operation of theengaging means about the aperture in alignment with the loading station,to load the device onto the tape; and means for storing the tape withthe loaded devices, the storing means being removably attached to theapparatus to permit the stored tape to be transferred to a bondingapparatus for employment in feeding the devices to the bonding station,and in compliantly bonding the devices to substrates.